Defense

The Ariane 6 rocket completed its wet-dress rehearsal test as European space officials work to ready their newest launcher for a July 9 inaugural mission.

U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is in the market for a long-endurance reconnaissance drone that can land on water and discreetly wait for recovery.

The aircraft, which the RCAF calls the CH-146C Mk. II Griffon, now enters a military certification process before a scheduled first delivery in 2026, Bell says.

Northrop Grumman has delivered the two-satellite constellation to the Space Force, targeting mid-July for liftoff onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

The agency needs more than the Defense Department’s space collision avoidance services to keep its satellites out of harm’s way.

The newcomer joins incumbents ULA and SpaceX on the Space Force’s launch vendor list.

A handful of leaders stands out for their adept use of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and spinoffs in shaping the industry.

Tools are being developed to speed the detection and mitigation of GPS jamming and spoofing.

Future procurement costs of the B-21 Raider will be more favorable for Northrop Grumman.

The NATO Innovation Fund included Germany’s Isar Aerospace in its first round of direct investments to commercial technology companies.

HONEYWELL agreed to acquire CAES SYSTEMS (formerly Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions), VA from Advent International for $1.9b in all-cash deal to enhance its radio frequency (RF) business in the defense electronics sector.

NASA suffered significant cost growth on some major programs even as the agency managed to get control over problems with some of its flagship efforts, GAO says.

Air Force Special Operations Command is considering a shift of CV-22 aviators to other platforms as the fleet faces at least a year of limited operations.

The U.S. is shifting delivery of most Patriot and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System interceptors to Ukraine from other foreign partners.

Honeywell International says it is buying the U.S.-based radar and electronic-warfare businesses of the former Cobham company for around $1.9 billion.

The Hubble Space Telescope has initiated imagery gathering with a single gyroscope, following the malfunction of one of the three aiming and steering devices.

Synspective, a Tokyo-based SAR satellite data and analytics solutions provider, announced June 20 it has raised 7 billion yen ($44 million).

Airbus Helicopters says it is two-three years away from finalizing the development of its VSR700 uncrewed helicopter.

ESA expects an agreement between Arianespace and Avio to be completed soon for the Italian company to take over commercialization and operations of the Vega C.

Missile manufacturer MBDA is proposing to develop a ground-launched conventional deep-strike cruise missile to provide a new deterrent capability for Europe.

The World Defense Show 2026 has registered early demand from international exhibitors, with floorspace for the event already 50 percent sold.

The U.S. State Department approved Taiwan to acquire more than 1,000 loitering munitions from both AeroVironment and Anduril.

SpaceX was a 50-employee upstart when it was first featured on Aviation Week’s cover on March 29, 2004.

Public spotlight again focuses on the Ospreys as tiltrotors will not return to full operations for a year.

Our June 29, 1959, cover showed a North American X-15 “rocket research aircraft” being dropped from a Boeing B-52 on its first free-flight flight test two weeks earlier near Edwards AFB, California.